Deadline approaches for primary schools to win a wild makeover!

Monday 14th September 2015

Primary schools across Birmingham and the Black Country have just two weeks left to win fantastic prizes that will make their children wild with excitement in The Wildlife Trust’s competition.

The prizes, such as a £2,500 wild makeover and free forest school sessions for their pupils are being provided by The Wildlife Trust thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

To enter the competition, schools simply need to send in an entry that shows the passion that they and their children have for wildlife and what you can learn from it. Tell The Trust why you want to be a “Wild School” by showing what you already do, what the children have written, drawn or videoed about your local wildlife. Entries may come in any format that the school wishes and the judging panel will decide on the winning entries based on the quality of ideas and passion shown.

Georgia Stokes, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country, said: “Being a bit wild is great for all of us, especially children. Spending time exploring the great outdoors is great fun for kids and it is hugely important. The benefits that time outdoors brings to a child cannot be overestimated. Natural play and exploration helps to build confidence and self-esteem, develops curiosity and understanding of the natural world and helps to keep children healthy and happy.

“We want this competition to stimulate schools to think about the amount of time the kids get outside and how this can be used as a learning tool by encouraging them to do it every day for a month. There are so many exciting opportunities to explore that link to the curriculum, from mini beast hunting, measuring and monitoring plant growth to pond dipping, wildlife spotting and games that improve communication skills. We hope the prizes will provide an added incentive to schools and we are delighted that the generosity of players of People’s Postcode Lottery is allowing us to provide such a wonderful offer.”

More details of the competition are available on The Trust’s website including suggestions of possible entries. All materials for the competition entry should then be submitted by September 30th 2015 with prizes to be awarded by TV’s Nick Baker at a special event at EcoPark, The Trust’s environmental education centre in Small Heath, Birmingham on 16th November.